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More Mature Duke Knows How to Handle Tough Games

By Jake Lloyd

Feb 1, 2008

When the Duke Blue Devils ran out of their locker room, through a corridor and onto the Cameron Indoor Stadium hardwood prior to Thursday's 92-72 win over N.C. State, they were very loose.

They strutted as if they had the 0-0 game in hand. They laughed amongst each other.

Their demeanor was a bit different about an hour later. Trailing 46-37, the Blue Devils were as serious as can be when they jogged back onto the court four minutes prior to the start of the second half. Once the action resumed, they played their best half of the season to run the Wolfpack out of Cameron.

As badly as Duke was outplayed in the first half, it made up for it with a poised second half that was error-free. The Devils committed zero turnovers in the half and made 21 of 32 shots, including seven of 11 3-pointers.

It was the second game in a row in which Duke rebounded from a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat a tough ACC team. And it shows how more mature and aplomb these Devils are compared to last year's group, which was comprised of most of the same players — minus Duke's three freshmen.

"I think this wouldn't be a game we would have won last year," sophomore Jon Scheyer said. "I think at halftime we made a few adjustments, and mostly it was our attitude coming out playing hard and playing tougher, and we did that in the second half."

On Tuesday afternoon, decked out in his simple, blue practice jersey, junior guard Greg Paulus talked of how the Devils learned from several close losses last season and have reversed the results this year.

"I think the experience of last year helped," Paulus said. "Where we lost some close games, we've won some close games (this season).

"But going through it together, we've got a lot of guys back from last year and I think the experience of having highs and lows made us want to be more consistent, made us work harder in the summertime, and I think the experience of being in the different types of situations regardless and knowing what to expect from college basketball has helped out."

Against the Pack, Paulus went to work on proving his words, easily playing his best game of the season, but most importantly, leading the Devils' second-half charge. Three straight 3-pointers, a steal and a pass to David McClure for a fast-break layup, and an over-the-shoulder pass to Kyle Singler for a dunk quickly transformed a five-point deficit into a 59-55 lead.

Duke never trailed again.

Building on a tough road victory

Scheyer pointed to Duke's first conference road win of the season at Florida State as the game when the Devils learned how to make the necessary plays in the second half to win a hard-fought game.

Prior to that game, nearly all the Devils' wins had been blowouts and they had let their toughest test against Pittsburgh slip away. But after the Seminoles grabbed their only lead of the second half with under four minutes remaining, Singler responded with a 3-pointer and Duke pulled away for the win.

Since that victory, Duke has broken open close games in the second half and figured out how to put opponents away. The Devils don't panic when they're down, and they don't let up once they gain the lead. And, again, the Devils point to last season, when too many games got away, as a learning experience that's paying big dividends.

"When you win a couple of those (close) games, you gain a lot of confidence," Paulus said. "And with the experience from last year, we've been in all types of situations, so guys know what to expect.

"And understanding the types of roles and things we need to do to win, whether it's blocking a guy out, hitting a couple free throws, you know, making a play defensively, I think the maturation of our team, you can definitely see it."

A bitter memory

Almost exactly a year ago is when things started to go awry for the 2006-07 Devils. When January ended, the Devils were 18-3 — just two losses different from this team's record. Sure, they had dropped their first two ACC games, but they had rebounded to win five straight and were ranked No. 8 in the country.

But things went downhill from there. Starting with a 68-66 overtime loss at Virginia, the Devils dropped four games in a row, including two at home. Another four-game losing streak to end the season devastated the Devils, giving them extra motivation for this season.

All eight of the games were winnable — with five of them decided by six points or less — but the Devils simply lacked the experience and poise to pull them out at the end. Sophomore Lance Thomas said the L's only fueled the Devils' fire during the offseason.

"We're a hungry team," Thomas said. "The upperclassmen on our team don't want to have the same feeling we had last year. That's just a feeling we don't want our freshmen to experience and our team to experience again because it strained us, and the feeling after losing in the first round of the (NCAA) tournament, we vow we're not going to feel that anymore."

A meaningful loss

But Duke had to be reminded of how painful letting a win slip from its grasp was. That lesson occurred on Dec. 20 inside Madison Square Garden when the Devils blew a 16-point first-half lead and ended up losing to Pittsburgh in overtime.

"I think the Pitt game was a learning experience for our program, for our players and coaches — just to learn how to win those types of games," Nelson said.

Added Scheyer, "I think we know we can lose because of that Pitt game. I think that (being undefeated) would be a little part to it where you almost feel like you can't lose, you know. You win games, you play sloppy.

"It (losing) can happen any night you step on the floor, and we need to expect that. That's something — we can't take it (winning) for granted."

Scheyer and others pointed to the first half Thursday, when the Devils couldn't stop the determined Pack and found themselves down against a team many people expected them to blow out, as evidence that if they don't come ready to compete, they'll fall behind.

"I think we were ready to compete, but not as ready to play," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "There's a big difference."

With the first battle against North Carolina looming next week and plenty of other tough games on the schedule after that, the Devils know that even second halves like the one they played Thursday night might not bail them out if they play more first halves like what Henderson described as Duke's worst half of the season.

"I think working hard in practice, keep improving and the biggest thing, coming ready to play every game and not taking for granted that we're playing at home or whomever we're playing" are the keys to avoiding a repeat of last season, Scheyer said.

"Anybody can beat us, and we have to come out every game ready to play."

By the end of the game Thursday, the Devils bench was back to laughing and smiling. The starters went nuts when last-man-off-the-bench Jordan Davidson put an exclamation point on the win with a driving layup.

The Devils had erased their slow start by keeping their composure and playing a dominant second half.

Something that might not have transpired a year ago.